EU COM Notice: Guidelines providing a common understanding of the term environmental damage

The ELD was evaluated by the Commission in 2016¹  and one of the challenges identified in the evaluation was the inconsistent application of key concepts by Member States.
To address this issue, the ELD was amended in 2019²  requiring the European Commission to develop guidelines to provide a common understanding of the term “environmental damage” as defined in Article 2 of the ELD.
The EU COM Notice takes the form of a Notice which provides an interpretation of many (but not all) of the legal faucets of ELD, with a primary focus on the term “environmental damage”. However, they do not provide technical guidance on how to assess cases of environmental damage or imminent threat.
The Notice was prepared under the exclusive responsibility of the Commission, in consultation with stakeholders. The Notice is binding on the Commission but not binding on Member States.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) remains solely competent to interpret EU law.
Rather than provide a full review, this section highlights details of the EU COM Notice which add to the understanding of the ELD and how it should be applied, providing clarity around the scope of application and understanding of key terms and concepts related to environmental damage which are relevant to this Practical Guide.
The EU COM Notice should be referred to directly provide context and detail around the topics referenced.